Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) - Common Misconceptions

It sounds simple enough, right? You need to lose weight around your belly area, so you go to the plastic surgeon and have tummy tuck surgery to get it taken care of. While many people may think that sounds like a great idea, that is not how tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) works. In fact, tummy tucks are not a way to lose weight at all. They are, rather, a way to tighten the excess skin and muscle in the tummy area. It has nothing to do with the removal of fat or fatty tissue.

This procedure is used on people who have stretched out skin, such as through gaining and losing weight, or because of a pregnancy. Often women who have had twins, for example, have a lot of excess skin, even after losing all the baby weight through diet and exercise. There is no way to “work off” excess skin and this procedure is really the only way to get rid of it.

There are actually two different types of procedures that are under the rubric of “tummy tuck.” The partial tummy tuck deals only with the skin below the belly button, while a full procedure requires more incisions and removes skin from around the waist as well. Obviously, the full option is more extensive and may also require liposuction), but it also gives a greater reward.

Tummy tucks are not simple procedures and require a fair amount of recovery time. Although the surgery takes about three to five hours, your recovery could last up to four weeks. During that time, you will be quite limited in the activities that you can perform and it is not until you are fully healed that you will be able to resume your full normal life. During this time, you are not to smoke and you must eat healthful foods. You also should not wear restrictive clothing that could pull out your stitches.

This plastic surgery option has a fair amount of risk, just like any surgery, including infection, bleeding, soreness, and swelling. If you plan to get pregnant in the future, you should not have a tummy tuck as the skin will be inhibited from stretching, not to mention that it will defeat the purpose of the surgery.